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Saving Social Security

© Hunter

The aging of the American citizenry poses some enormous challenges for us as a country. The largest group of seniors in the history of the United States as a nation are the "baby boomer" generation and the number of elderly citizens is set to double by the year 2030.

Social Security is an insurance program that helps workers retire with dignity, and without Social Security more than half of our citizens would live in poverty or worse. One-third of our elderly over age 65 rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income and only about one-third of the retirees receive any kind of private pension. As of March 1999, Social Security benefits are given to more than 44 million people.

The Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance program (OASDI), by the year 2032 will have an unfunded liability of $8 trillion dollars. The OASDI program is separate from the Medicare health programs that are part of Social Security).

The Social Security program, since its beginning, has paid its own way by taking in more than it has paid out. Social Security is not in trouble today as we speak, but by the year 2032, the Trust Fund will be unable to pay out the full benefits that we as Americans have been promised. Putting it simply, there won't be enough money from the 12.4% tax paid by workers and employers to support the program. Some changes will have to be made to the funding to enable the Trust Fund to pay the full amount of benefits to those deserving citizens.

The debate in the 106th Congress will be controversal with many proposals being offered up for consideration. Some will divert part of the payroll tax that funds Social Security toopay for the creation of personal retirement accounts or PRAs and to invest in the risky stock market. Another takes a maintaining benefit approach and secure future budget surpluses to ensure the solvency of Social Security's Trust Fund.

We need to keep Social Security as a rock-solid guarantee, which includes proposals that reduce poverty among elderly women, who are nearly twice as likely to be poor as other seniors and to eliminate the limits on what seniors who receive Social Security can earn in additional income.

I do not believe that cuts in guaranteed benefits, raising the retirement age, cutting or eliminating the cost of living adjustments or draining resources from the Social Security Trust Fund is a good idea.

I also do not believe that privatization of Social Security by creating private retirement accounts is the answer either.

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